1
00:00:01,520 --> 00:00:05,720
Speaker 1: I'm with Lucas and Mrs Black Tech Green Money. Heather House,

2
00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:08,680
Speaker 1: who founded path Bright, is now managing partner of the

3
00:00:08,760 --> 00:00:12,680
Speaker 1: VC firm Black Ops Ventures, which exclusively invests in black

4
00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,840
Speaker 1: tech founders. She's also a director of the board at

5
00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:17,759
Speaker 1: You to Me and That's pre I p O and

6
00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,960
Speaker 1: going public experience. On this episode, she's talking to Merlin

7
00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,919
Speaker 1: sat Til, who's founder at Black Women on Boards and

8
00:00:24,960 --> 00:00:28,479
Speaker 1: who herself since on six boards of directors and was

9
00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:30,520
Speaker 1: on the board of four companies that I p O.

10
00:00:33,120 --> 00:00:36,600
Speaker 1: This conversation from afro Tech executive Brooklyn this year is

11
00:00:36,760 --> 00:00:40,240
Speaker 1: enlightening about corporate board service taking company across the I

12
00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,199
Speaker 1: p O finish line and thought the perspectives from a

13
00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,720
Speaker 1: truly experienced black director who gives you the game on

14
00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:50,199
Speaker 1: the green, yellow, and red flags you'll want your intendis

15
00:00:50,240 --> 00:00:53,800
Speaker 1: of for should you decide to consider board service Before

16
00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,720
Speaker 1: we get into it, I'm curious how many of you

17
00:00:55,800 --> 00:01:01,000
Speaker 1: all are currently directors on corporate boards. Okay, let's lese

18
00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:03,840
Speaker 1: me is okay, excellent, excellent, and how many of you

19
00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,200
Speaker 1: all intend to be in the future. That's what I'm

20
00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,199
Speaker 1: really trying to see. Okay, Okay, now we're talking that's

21
00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:13,720
Speaker 1: a good show. Um Uh. There are so many reasons

22
00:01:13,760 --> 00:01:17,759
Speaker 1: why this is important to our society, to our upcoming

23
00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,560
Speaker 1: generation of folks and um and important to ourselves and

24
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,600
Speaker 1: our families that we um we actualize our full potential.

25
00:01:25,760 --> 00:01:27,640
Speaker 1: So this is a wonderful thing for us to be

26
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:30,560
Speaker 1: able to talk about some Really, let's get into it,

27
00:01:30,640 --> 00:01:36,600
Speaker 1: all right, um So for starters, tell us about how

28
00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:40,679
Speaker 1: you decided that you were gonna be um be a

29
00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:43,400
Speaker 1: director on these corporate boards, and how you then went

30
00:01:43,440 --> 00:01:47,160
Speaker 1: about realizing your goals. All right, Well, first of all,

31
00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:50,120
Speaker 1: thanks for having me, Morrigan. It's wonderful to see you.

32
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:54,920
Speaker 1: I've known Morrigan gosh six seven years now. Um I

33
00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:57,400
Speaker 1: was she was just leaving into it and had a

34
00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:01,640
Speaker 1: pleasure of investing in Blevity uh so really early on.

35
00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:04,360
Speaker 1: So really great to see her. They're great to spend

36
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:08,280
Speaker 1: time with you. We met at Director's Academy, which is

37
00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:12,079
Speaker 1: an organization that was founded by my sponsor now James White,

38
00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:19,800
Speaker 1: uh for former CEO of Joma Juice, And part of

39
00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:25,440
Speaker 1: that conversation was how do you think about making it accessible? Right?

40
00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:29,120
Speaker 1: Board services seem so opaque, So maybe before I answer

41
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,200
Speaker 1: that question, let's tell you what boards do do? People

42
00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:36,320
Speaker 1: know what boards do, okay, But for for those of

43
00:02:36,360 --> 00:02:42,320
Speaker 1: you who don't know, UM, we we help hire, fire,

44
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:48,800
Speaker 1: and evaluate CEOs. We're appointed by shareholders that could be stakeholders, customers,

45
00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:53,800
Speaker 1: employees to really do our fiducial responsibility of UH care,

46
00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,400
Speaker 1: duty and loyalty. What that really means, in Layman's terms,

47
00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,919
Speaker 1: is that we should act as a team to really

48
00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:04,160
Speaker 1: think about short and long and help set the organization

49
00:03:04,240 --> 00:03:06,520
Speaker 1: on its course. If you're doing it right, you're seeing

50
00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,880
Speaker 1: around corners, you're helping be a partner to the organization

51
00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,720
Speaker 1: in many respects. And so that's what board services. And

52
00:03:13,720 --> 00:03:17,040
Speaker 1: I'm happy to answer any questions after that. UM. My

53
00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:22,280
Speaker 1: first board opportunity app happened actually five years ago, UH

54
00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,400
Speaker 1: after the Director's Academy where I learned the nuts and

55
00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:27,760
Speaker 1: bolts of how to become a board member. I was

56
00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:30,480
Speaker 1: appointed to my first board and the secret to that

57
00:03:30,600 --> 00:03:34,400
Speaker 1: was just telling people, help connect the dots for people,

58
00:03:34,480 --> 00:03:37,600
Speaker 1: because it's not like it's posted on LinkedIn. You don't

59
00:03:37,600 --> 00:03:39,800
Speaker 1: find boards like that. And if someone tells you they

60
00:03:39,840 --> 00:03:43,240
Speaker 1: can actually guarantee you on a board, run the other

61
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:47,840
Speaker 1: way because part of it is there's an opportunity open,

62
00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,720
Speaker 1: you have to find someone in your network to tell

63
00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:54,920
Speaker 1: you that it's even open. And that's the issue so

64
00:03:55,480 --> 00:03:58,080
Speaker 1: for black women specifically, and I'll get into the organization

65
00:03:58,120 --> 00:04:01,320
Speaker 1: I founded is we're limited to network. We lack the

66
00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,280
Speaker 1: visibility and we don't have the sponsorship. So for you

67
00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:08,240
Speaker 1: to even know that an opening is happening, guess what,

68
00:04:08,320 --> 00:04:10,920
Speaker 1: it's not posted anywhere. And it's the people who are

69
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:14,280
Speaker 1: already in who then have to refer people and on

70
00:04:14,320 --> 00:04:18,160
Speaker 1: and on and on. So anyway, that that to me, UM,

71
00:04:18,160 --> 00:04:21,680
Speaker 1: getting on my first public board five years ago, UM

72
00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:23,920
Speaker 1: was really what set the trajectory. And once you're on

73
00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,080
Speaker 1: a board, by the way, you're you're good because then

74
00:04:26,120 --> 00:04:28,440
Speaker 1: you get all the calls and that's how that process goes.

75
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,840
Speaker 1: So okay, excellent, No, that's that's exactly right. And so

76
00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:39,479
Speaker 1: UM breaking into that network is an intentional process. And UM,

77
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,719
Speaker 1: can you tell us about what people can do to

78
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:45,240
Speaker 1: take those steps to get in there? Should they be

79
00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:49,479
Speaker 1: looking at some kind of UM next generation you know,

80
00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:53,279
Speaker 1: board board academy kind of thing, or how what should

81
00:04:53,279 --> 00:04:56,960
Speaker 1: they be doing? Well, one of the things I were

82
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,520
Speaker 1: doing a black point on boards. Besides help people get

83
00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,760
Speaker 1: on boards is reaching back to the senior managers mid

84
00:05:04,800 --> 00:05:07,280
Speaker 1: career folks, because what I can tell you right now,

85
00:05:07,320 --> 00:05:11,599
Speaker 1: the decisions you make early in your career greatly affect

86
00:05:11,720 --> 00:05:14,360
Speaker 1: your ability to get on a board meeting. I need

87
00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:18,520
Speaker 1: you to be taking piano responsibilities, taking that international assignment,

88
00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:22,479
Speaker 1: understanding things that are the hard things that's attractive to

89
00:05:22,520 --> 00:05:25,880
Speaker 1: a board. And so that's part of the readiness. I

90
00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:31,200
Speaker 1: would say. Once you're about I would say the senior

91
00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:36,680
Speaker 1: director VP level, it does help you to understand what

92
00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:38,640
Speaker 1: a board does, like I just explained it to you,

93
00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,040
Speaker 1: but you really need to understand what committee work is. UM.

94
00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:46,359
Speaker 1: You need to understand really the lane go on saying

95
00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:49,479
Speaker 1: pay uh as an example, like the things that people

96
00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,680
Speaker 1: talk about, the financial metrics. You need to understand that

97
00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:55,440
Speaker 1: because without it, it's like you're trying to enter a

98
00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,600
Speaker 1: foreign or learn a foreign language without any kind of background.

99
00:05:59,720 --> 00:06:04,240
Speaker 1: It's really hard. And so Director's Academy or UH, the

100
00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:07,920
Speaker 1: Santa Clara just did UH just for black corporate directors.

101
00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:10,400
Speaker 1: I'm a mentor and meant some of you may have

102
00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:13,000
Speaker 1: gone through that or have heard about it. Sanford Director's

103
00:06:13,120 --> 00:06:16,560
Speaker 1: College HBS has program. There are a whole bunch of

104
00:06:16,560 --> 00:06:19,200
Speaker 1: programs out there. UH, so you can learn the nuts

105
00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:22,440
Speaker 1: and bolts and then it's just then telling people it

106
00:06:22,520 --> 00:06:25,599
Speaker 1: is is. It is a networking process. And I will

107
00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,080
Speaker 1: share from from my experience. I wanted to make sure

108
00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:31,760
Speaker 1: that I, and luckily I was invited with you to

109
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:34,680
Speaker 1: me to join the audit committee. You also should know

110
00:06:34,800 --> 00:06:38,880
Speaker 1: what your superpowers are and how to optimize them so

111
00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:41,200
Speaker 1: that they look at you and say, she'd be great

112
00:06:41,240 --> 00:06:45,640
Speaker 1: on on the audit committee, or we need some league

113
00:06:45,720 --> 00:06:48,520
Speaker 1: someone with the legal background, and so they're looking for

114
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,640
Speaker 1: that kind of person. Usually when they get to the

115
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:54,320
Speaker 1: point where they're looking for directors, they have certain criteria

116
00:06:54,400 --> 00:06:57,880
Speaker 1: and mind and it is a matter of the numbers,

117
00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:00,480
Speaker 1: kind of like a relationship kind of dating to find

118
00:07:00,520 --> 00:07:03,360
Speaker 1: where you fit in best. UM, will you talk to

119
00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,720
Speaker 1: us about now that you're in a position you've been

120
00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:10,080
Speaker 1: on so many different kinds of boards, what what is

121
00:07:10,120 --> 00:07:13,200
Speaker 1: your process for how you select the right kinds of

122
00:07:13,240 --> 00:07:16,800
Speaker 1: boards to serve on um? Because we may not all

123
00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:20,480
Speaker 1: get the first ideal opportunity the first time out of

124
00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:24,280
Speaker 1: the gate um, but if we have in mind the

125
00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:26,400
Speaker 1: kinds of boards where we can add the most value,

126
00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:29,840
Speaker 1: we're we're most engaged. Um, that is the best use

127
00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:32,600
Speaker 1: of our time because they're going to be most lucrative.

128
00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:36,520
Speaker 1: What are the things you look for? Yeah, so all

129
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,760
Speaker 1: of those things you said are so so important. The

130
00:07:39,840 --> 00:07:41,840
Speaker 1: hardest part when you're trying to get your first one

131
00:07:43,040 --> 00:07:46,560
Speaker 1: is not to just take anything. I need you to

132
00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:50,480
Speaker 1: not do that because guess what, your brand is so

133
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:53,920
Speaker 1: connected to whatever company you decided to join, so you

134
00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,400
Speaker 1: should interview them as much as they're interviewing you. But

135
00:07:57,480 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 1: I have to say your first one, you may have

136
00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,600
Speaker 1: to oppromise a little bit. But once you're on a board,

137
00:08:03,640 --> 00:08:06,080
Speaker 1: I do think being selective. If you're still an operator,

138
00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,280
Speaker 1: by the way, operators means you have a day job,

139
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,840
Speaker 1: you're probably limited to one or two, so be super selective.

140
00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,200
Speaker 1: And if you're like me, by the way, I just

141
00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,480
Speaker 1: switched to full time board service about a year and

142
00:08:18,480 --> 00:08:20,840
Speaker 1: a half ago. UM. And it was really my former

143
00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,440
Speaker 1: boss um at into it. Who um. When I was

144
00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:26,240
Speaker 1: deciding what to do next, He's like, you should just

145
00:08:26,280 --> 00:08:28,360
Speaker 1: do boards. I'm like, I'm too young to retire. He said.

146
00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,880
Speaker 1: I didn't say retired. Just do what you want. Um.

147
00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,280
Speaker 1: And so it's it's someone who was with me when

148
00:08:36,280 --> 00:08:38,600
Speaker 1: I got on my first board, who took me off

149
00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:42,640
Speaker 1: a path that I think has been generational changing from

150
00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,680
Speaker 1: a wealth perspective, And it's just you have to see

151
00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:47,719
Speaker 1: what's happening how people get on these pre I p

152
00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,679
Speaker 1: O boards. And ultimately I loved two firs in life.

153
00:08:50,960 --> 00:08:52,920
Speaker 1: So you can get on a pre I p O board,

154
00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,439
Speaker 1: make your money at also be on a public board.

155
00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,079
Speaker 1: So right, and because I kept trying to figure out

156
00:08:58,120 --> 00:09:01,240
Speaker 1: how could I get onto a publicly traded company board

157
00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:04,599
Speaker 1: and the best and easiest way was going with the

158
00:09:04,679 --> 00:09:07,160
Speaker 1: pre I p O company. Now I chair nom GOV

159
00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:09,960
Speaker 1: and by the way, that helps me with my goal

160
00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:12,360
Speaker 1: of trying to get other women of color into the

161
00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:15,960
Speaker 1: director seats. We're looking for two new directors, so I've

162
00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:18,520
Speaker 1: made sure we have candidates who are black women for

163
00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:22,600
Speaker 1: those opportunities. So the other I think next level challenge,

164
00:09:22,720 --> 00:09:25,720
Speaker 1: at least that I've taken on is how do I

165
00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,520
Speaker 1: make sure other black women join me at the same table.

166
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,840
Speaker 1: That's really the next level after you get yourself these opportunities.

167
00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:35,920
Speaker 1: Um so, but you've taken it even further than that

168
00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:40,160
Speaker 1: merline because you founded Black Women on Board specifically to

169
00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,960
Speaker 1: accelerate the process and get more black women on. Tell

170
00:09:43,040 --> 00:09:46,080
Speaker 1: us what that accelerator does. All right, I'll tell you

171
00:09:46,120 --> 00:09:48,720
Speaker 1: the accelerator second. But you just said something super important

172
00:09:50,000 --> 00:09:55,280
Speaker 1: you would learn in these training programs. Committee called Nominations

173
00:09:55,280 --> 00:09:59,240
Speaker 1: and Governance showed for nom and gov that charter is

174
00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,839
Speaker 1: to do just what she says, which is helped find

175
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:04,959
Speaker 1: new candidates. That's their goal. And so you can see

176
00:10:05,000 --> 00:10:08,520
Speaker 1: if you join a board, you actually can't affect change

177
00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:10,840
Speaker 1: by joining that committee. So I do want you to

178
00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:14,400
Speaker 1: think if you want to help, that's one committee to do. So.

179
00:10:14,480 --> 00:10:17,160
Speaker 1: Black One on Boards started um in the middle of

180
00:10:17,160 --> 00:10:21,000
Speaker 1: pandemic uh. And it was really a dear friend of

181
00:10:21,040 --> 00:10:25,000
Speaker 1: mine and a mentor, Robin Washington. She sits on the

182
00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:29,640
Speaker 1: board of Alphabet Salesforce, Honeywell and stock X And we

183
00:10:29,640 --> 00:10:32,520
Speaker 1: were just chatting and catching up, and towards the end

184
00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,199
Speaker 1: that hall where we have champagne problems, which is both

185
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,240
Speaker 1: of us can't get on another board, and so we said,

186
00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:45,960
Speaker 1: and so we're still waiting, and so we said, wouldn't

187
00:10:46,000 --> 00:10:47,960
Speaker 1: it be great if we just had a little happy

188
00:10:48,040 --> 00:10:51,000
Speaker 1: hour with five of my friends five of her friends.

189
00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:53,160
Speaker 1: And I'm like, yeah, and we'll do it at Brown

190
00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:55,280
Speaker 1: Estate Winery, which is one of the premier black on

191
00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:58,920
Speaker 1: wineries and NAPA. Uh. And I'd love to have you

192
00:10:58,960 --> 00:11:00,720
Speaker 1: guys drink, but I want to get on boards too,

193
00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:03,679
Speaker 1: So we brought a venture capital person along and so

194
00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:09,319
Speaker 1: that little group of eighteen women eventually became a hundred fifty.

195
00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:13,400
Speaker 1: And I don't know if you guys have the UM clip,

196
00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:16,560
Speaker 1: you could show that. On February eighth, I was here

197
00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:19,480
Speaker 1: in New York City to ring the opening bell of

198
00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:31,960
Speaker 1: NASDAC to celebrate to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the

199
00:11:32,000 --> 00:11:35,440
Speaker 1: first black woman on a Fortune five board, which was

200
00:11:35,480 --> 00:11:40,320
Speaker 1: Patricia Robert Harris. So yeah, shout out to her. What

201
00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:45,559
Speaker 1: year was that? So you can only imagine the way

202
00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:47,360
Speaker 1: I roll is. I come up with idea and then

203
00:11:47,400 --> 00:11:51,560
Speaker 1: I execute. So getting to a hundred fifty members, I

204
00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:53,640
Speaker 1: was able to bring forty five of us. It was

205
00:11:53,760 --> 00:11:57,640
Speaker 1: really such euphoria. Uh. Sixty of our members sit on

206
00:11:57,679 --> 00:12:01,000
Speaker 1: public boards. But the goal is because we sit on boards,

207
00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,920
Speaker 1: we get the calls. So I'm looking for that VP

208
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:07,679
Speaker 1: who doesn't have any connections, and I promise you I can.

209
00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:13,160
Speaker 1: I can probably get her connected by go to Director's Academy,

210
00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:16,680
Speaker 1: go to Santa Clara make the connections and accelerate that

211
00:12:16,760 --> 00:12:20,160
Speaker 1: networking process. So that's what we're doing, and so that

212
00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:23,840
Speaker 1: that's part of it. That's wonderful. UM. It just dawned

213
00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,600
Speaker 1: on me for people who are, you know, rising through

214
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:30,079
Speaker 1: the ranks, so they're not quite ready to put their

215
00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,360
Speaker 1: their hat in the ring, if you will. What are

216
00:12:32,360 --> 00:12:35,760
Speaker 1: the things that you you mentioned earlier have P and

217
00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,200
Speaker 1: L responsibility? But can you tell us, UM anything else

218
00:12:40,240 --> 00:12:42,600
Speaker 1: about like how are we how do people need to

219
00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,679
Speaker 1: gear up to get ready to to find these opportunities.

220
00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,719
Speaker 1: I mean, I I think it's understanding what's valued in

221
00:12:49,760 --> 00:12:52,199
Speaker 1: a bordroom right now. So typically it would have been

222
00:12:52,240 --> 00:12:55,200
Speaker 1: a CEO, CFO, but I could tell you what I

223
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:58,760
Speaker 1: went through the Director's Academy. I remember one of the

224
00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:01,280
Speaker 1: faculty and by the way, when you're guilty in these programs,

225
00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:03,800
Speaker 1: you're teaching for free, UM, which is a good thing.

226
00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:07,840
Speaker 1: One of the faculty members was she was on the

227
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,600
Speaker 1: board of GM, Kathy Marinelli. I don't know if you

228
00:13:10,600 --> 00:13:14,720
Speaker 1: remember her. She looked at me and said, I can

229
00:13:14,760 --> 00:13:21,000
Speaker 1: tell you that technology, cybersecurity, digital transformation is going to

230
00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,040
Speaker 1: be so important in a boardroom. And this was before

231
00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,800
Speaker 1: I got on my first board, so the whole room

232
00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:29,480
Speaker 1: knew that was my background, and they kind of just

233
00:13:29,600 --> 00:13:31,560
Speaker 1: all turned to me. It's like she's talking to you,

234
00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:35,360
Speaker 1: and loan behold of a few months later, I was

235
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:37,760
Speaker 1: appointed to my first board. So a lot of it

236
00:13:37,800 --> 00:13:41,040
Speaker 1: is the confidence to know you belong and you do

237
00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:44,200
Speaker 1: you all belong and fitting this room belongs. I just

238
00:13:44,240 --> 00:13:47,760
Speaker 1: want to say off time and and and then it's

239
00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:50,880
Speaker 1: knowing how to position your skills and how to talk

240
00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:54,080
Speaker 1: about them, to say, hey, I'm your person. You know

241
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,559
Speaker 1: I understand technology and the architecture of it. And so

242
00:13:57,760 --> 00:13:59,959
Speaker 1: if you're in a traditional business that's going through the

243
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:03,199
Speaker 1: digital transformation, I'm the person who can be a strategic

244
00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:08,720
Speaker 1: partner UM. So I have expertise in learning and UM

245
00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:13,280
Speaker 1: education and technology and so you to me came after

246
00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:16,040
Speaker 1: me because the first thing I did when when I

247
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,840
Speaker 1: joined the board was help them build a strategic plan

248
00:14:18,960 --> 00:14:21,720
Speaker 1: for us going public. So knowing that you can come

249
00:14:21,720 --> 00:14:25,160
Speaker 1: in and you can talk data with your folks, or

250
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:30,040
Speaker 1: you can talk about UM the next phase of the plan,

251
00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:32,400
Speaker 1: whatever it is. So knowing how to position your skills

252
00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:36,120
Speaker 1: for those opportunities. Yeah, and just to give you a

253
00:14:36,200 --> 00:14:39,480
Speaker 1: little specific. If you can think about it's called value proposition.

254
00:14:39,880 --> 00:14:43,520
Speaker 1: What is your value to the organization? Help connect the

255
00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,560
Speaker 1: dots for the people because they're looking for If you

256
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,720
Speaker 1: think a board as a team, you have people who

257
00:14:49,720 --> 00:14:52,680
Speaker 1: play positions and how do you fit as in one

258
00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:56,960
Speaker 1: of those positions? So you want to make that easy. Um,

259
00:14:57,040 --> 00:15:01,040
Speaker 1: will you tell us a little bit about U? The

260
00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:06,240
Speaker 1: executive management? And so for people who are rising stars

261
00:15:06,240 --> 00:15:09,160
Speaker 1: in their companies, are there ways in which they can

262
00:15:09,200 --> 00:15:12,760
Speaker 1: get the attention or build relationship with directors at their company?

263
00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:20,600
Speaker 1: Is that a good idea? Always? Yeah? So I often

264
00:15:20,640 --> 00:15:23,720
Speaker 1: say that I think women and black women in particular

265
00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:30,240
Speaker 1: are over mentored and undersponsored. So you guys get the distinction.

266
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:34,800
Speaker 1: There's a big book. So the idea is you need

267
00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:38,720
Speaker 1: to find people who are going to invest in you. Okay,

268
00:15:39,040 --> 00:15:45,000
Speaker 1: they're going to nominate you for an international assignment or

269
00:15:45,080 --> 00:15:50,160
Speaker 1: say give her this additional responsibility. That's the advocacy because

270
00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,160
Speaker 1: that person is using their capital, their personal capital, to

271
00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:56,880
Speaker 1: make an opening doors for you. By the way, that

272
00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:00,360
Speaker 1: that's what I do on Black woman boards and for

273
00:16:00,440 --> 00:16:04,360
Speaker 1: the men here, I love you too. You I have

274
00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:06,760
Speaker 1: to tell you Aaron, who is the CEO of Bravity.

275
00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:10,280
Speaker 1: I helped him with some negotiations when he was getting

276
00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:13,120
Speaker 1: his first board. It's something I'm super passionate about. I

277
00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:16,720
Speaker 1: think it's just important I do it for everyone. But specifically,

278
00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,040
Speaker 1: I knew that if someone was coming to me for

279
00:16:19,160 --> 00:16:23,640
Speaker 1: board assign it, it's my exact profile that they're looking for. Right,

280
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,520
Speaker 1: So you just need to find people who want to

281
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:30,080
Speaker 1: invest in you, in your company's and if someone's not

282
00:16:30,200 --> 00:16:33,120
Speaker 1: investing in you, you have to think of hard about

283
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:41,480
Speaker 1: how you're spending your time. Absolutely, absolutely, Uh we are.

284
00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:47,120
Speaker 1: I wonder I wonder if they're sorry. It was a

285
00:16:47,200 --> 00:16:53,440
Speaker 1: drop my kind of moment, that's all I'm you know,

286
00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:55,920
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if I want to make sure we're answering

287
00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,040
Speaker 1: all the questions that you all have and um, and

288
00:16:59,160 --> 00:17:00,840
Speaker 1: I think we have a up one more minutes, So

289
00:17:00,880 --> 00:17:05,720
Speaker 1: I'm wondering if anybody has a burning question. I said, yeah, okay, Grid,

290
00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:08,920
Speaker 1: we have a few people who have burning questions. Um,

291
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,960
Speaker 1: can we yeah, can you just stand up? I'm sure

292
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,600
Speaker 1: we can hear you. It's a it's an intimate group.

293
00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:18,600
Speaker 1: Is that's some Hello, Hey y'all, So I'm actually asking

294
00:17:18,600 --> 00:17:20,160
Speaker 1: this on behalf of a few people in the room,

295
00:17:20,240 --> 00:17:24,240
Speaker 1: right and including myself, can you give us a why? Right? Um,

296
00:17:24,280 --> 00:17:25,960
Speaker 1: A lot of people are thinking like join a board

297
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,000
Speaker 1: and Jordan board. What is the reason that this is

298
00:17:28,040 --> 00:17:33,280
Speaker 1: beneficial to you? Including the dollars and cents? Thank you,

299
00:17:33,359 --> 00:17:35,359
Speaker 1: thank you. See I knew there was some burning questions

300
00:17:35,359 --> 00:17:38,240
Speaker 1: out there. We weren't weren't heading on. So the dollars

301
00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:41,040
Speaker 1: and cents, I would say, that's obvious, right, you guys

302
00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:46,800
Speaker 1: get that. You want to get paid and create generational wealth. Okay, cool, Yeah, yeah, exactly,

303
00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:50,560
Speaker 1: And I think, okay, I think there's also there's also

304
00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:54,240
Speaker 1: a hierarchy of boards. They're they're higher higher, Okay. Four

305
00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:58,119
Speaker 1: types of boards. They are the nonprofits where sometimes you

306
00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:01,159
Speaker 1: pay with not only your time, but you pay to

307
00:18:01,160 --> 00:18:04,200
Speaker 1: help fund raise. There's a their advisory boards. Sometimes they

308
00:18:04,359 --> 00:18:07,199
Speaker 1: they're paid or not paid. There are private boards that

309
00:18:07,400 --> 00:18:11,040
Speaker 1: ultimately hopefully go public, and then there are public boards.

310
00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:14,840
Speaker 1: So the dollars and cents can matter from the private

311
00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,960
Speaker 1: to the public boards. I would say the base level

312
00:18:20,080 --> 00:18:25,479
Speaker 1: for public board, we're talking hundred fifty plus ter midus

313
00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:30,040
Speaker 1: something like that a year, usually with a cash uh

314
00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:35,520
Speaker 1: and stock retainer. Mid level for private to five to

315
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,440
Speaker 1: fifty annual right in a mixed same stock um cash mix.

316
00:18:40,960 --> 00:18:43,520
Speaker 1: And then on the top level boards it could be

317
00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:49,320
Speaker 1: you know, three up, okay, uh private because you start

318
00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:53,240
Speaker 1: so early and Aaron knows this because I hope negotiate

319
00:18:53,240 --> 00:18:56,560
Speaker 1: a much better deal. You can really set the tone

320
00:18:56,880 --> 00:19:00,320
Speaker 1: if you're the first director negotiate and to go shade

321
00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:03,360
Speaker 1: hard because you get to say, do our own long

322
00:19:03,359 --> 00:19:06,160
Speaker 1: percent of the company. You typically aren't getting that much,

323
00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:09,359
Speaker 1: but you can dial it to whatever quarterable point all

324
00:19:09,400 --> 00:19:12,960
Speaker 1: the way up too. So that's one the other reason

325
00:19:13,040 --> 00:19:15,480
Speaker 1: you want to join a board. This is where decision

326
00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,480
Speaker 1: is happening. This is the room that if I asked

327
00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:23,800
Speaker 1: a question around whatever, and I often do around howre

328
00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:27,800
Speaker 1: you thinking about talent? How are you thinking about diversity?

329
00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:31,120
Speaker 1: I talk about strategy. But I asked all these questions.

330
00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:34,600
Speaker 1: People are responding and the next thing, you know, we're

331
00:19:34,640 --> 00:19:38,159
Speaker 1: measuring what matters. So that's exactly and and when you

332
00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:41,840
Speaker 1: said we're measuring what matters, that's the real thing. When

333
00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:45,440
Speaker 1: you are at the governance level, so you are responsible

334
00:19:45,520 --> 00:19:49,400
Speaker 1: for the hiring, firing and performance evaluation of the CEO

335
00:19:49,520 --> 00:19:52,439
Speaker 1: of the company, and you're the only person that the

336
00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,760
Speaker 1: only body that holds the CEO accountable. So when you

337
00:19:56,800 --> 00:20:01,120
Speaker 1: give him or her UM the measures of says, they

338
00:20:01,160 --> 00:20:04,680
Speaker 1: need to say things like how diverse is your executive team?

339
00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:09,000
Speaker 1: And if that's being measured, then that's how her or

340
00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,640
Speaker 1: his performance is evaluated. And if not, it's not even

341
00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:17,359
Speaker 1: a thing. And um, and so I know from nom GOV.

342
00:20:17,640 --> 00:20:21,520
Speaker 1: Now we have two very important sea level positions coming

343
00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:23,960
Speaker 1: up in it you to me the c h r

344
00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:28,040
Speaker 1: O and the CMO. I want to see diverse candidates.

345
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:32,000
Speaker 1: And in fact, I'm gonna raise holy hell if we

346
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,760
Speaker 1: don't have a slate of diverse candidates even two under

347
00:20:34,760 --> 00:20:39,280
Speaker 1: a consideration. Similarly, for two director positions, I've said to

348
00:20:39,320 --> 00:20:41,520
Speaker 1: them we can't have just all white women because they

349
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,400
Speaker 1: already said we're gonna have women directors great, and they

350
00:20:44,400 --> 00:20:46,800
Speaker 1: need to be women of color who are at least

351
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:49,560
Speaker 1: considered and and and if there are two slots, at

352
00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:53,399
Speaker 1: least one. So but you only have that kind of

353
00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:57,120
Speaker 1: agency and that kind of influence if you're a director.

354
00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,399
Speaker 1: And um, and just to really underscore the pre I

355
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:06,560
Speaker 1: p O situation, UM, you may have options that you

356
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:10,640
Speaker 1: get for pennies that then once the company goes public,

357
00:21:10,720 --> 00:21:14,400
Speaker 1: and they're kind of a year two um after being launched.

358
00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:17,840
Speaker 1: These years can be worth millions and millions of dollars

359
00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:21,800
Speaker 1: seven or eight. Yeah, so it's twelve sometimes. I mean

360
00:21:22,280 --> 00:21:26,679
Speaker 1: so so really it's those big pay days when you

361
00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,040
Speaker 1: talk about wealth creation, it's the big pay days that

362
00:21:31,560 --> 00:21:34,600
Speaker 1: allow you to do big things and and and get

363
00:21:34,600 --> 00:21:37,360
Speaker 1: your wealth creation to the to the different levels. And

364
00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,919
Speaker 1: that's why, incrementally, that's so much more powerful than just

365
00:21:42,080 --> 00:21:45,400
Speaker 1: being on a publicly traded company board. So um, I mean,

366
00:21:45,640 --> 00:21:48,200
Speaker 1: this is where we don't have families that ever did

367
00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:50,400
Speaker 1: this before, so we got to share it with each other.

368
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:56,160
Speaker 1: You know, we're all first times. And I was gonna

369
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,400
Speaker 1: add that's one of the reasons why the accelerator uh

370
00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:01,520
Speaker 1: that I formed. Um And if you want to know

371
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,160
Speaker 1: about it, just google Fortune and b w o b uh.

372
00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:09,000
Speaker 1: We're taking twenty women through this process. It's venture five

373
00:22:09,080 --> 00:22:11,560
Speaker 1: venture firms that have signed up to just be partners,

374
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:15,199
Speaker 1: not only giving dollars, but they are building relationships and

375
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:18,640
Speaker 1: one on ones with the portfolio CEOs and office hours

376
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:23,200
Speaker 1: because we're investing to to help them get They basically

377
00:22:23,200 --> 00:22:25,720
Speaker 1: have first DIBs on these women and if not they're

378
00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:28,720
Speaker 1: going to open their network. So it's really just what's

379
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:33,720
Speaker 1: so special and why you know, I have created these relationships,

380
00:22:34,040 --> 00:22:36,720
Speaker 1: um over the twenty something years that I've lived in

381
00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:40,400
Speaker 1: Silicon Valley, and I'm just leveraging that to to bring

382
00:22:40,440 --> 00:22:43,280
Speaker 1: others along. So and that's what's so amazing is that

383
00:22:43,320 --> 00:22:46,560
Speaker 1: you're taking the time you're busy with on six boards,

384
00:22:47,080 --> 00:22:49,520
Speaker 1: but you're taking the time to build a pathway for

385
00:22:49,560 --> 00:22:52,399
Speaker 1: all of these other black women. And so thank you

386
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:58,720
Speaker 1: for that, Meriline. That's amazing my pleasure because because I

387
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,400
Speaker 1: won't nay names, but some of us are just focused

388
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:04,760
Speaker 1: on ourselves and we're not putting all this time and

389
00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,639
Speaker 1: effort into bringing us all along. So this is very

390
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:13,159
Speaker 1: very empowering. So thank you, thank you, thank you, my

391
00:23:13,280 --> 00:23:17,560
Speaker 1: pleasure time. Okay, yes, and there's a burning one over

392
00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:20,400
Speaker 1: here there too. Can we get try and get those

393
00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:35,680
Speaker 1: two that I'll be around test all right, Hi, thank

394
00:23:35,680 --> 00:23:38,520
Speaker 1: you so much for speaking. I'm Addie Adbusi. I'm a

395
00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,920
Speaker 1: product manager at Microsoft and I'm currently living in Atlanta.

396
00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,040
Speaker 1: So if I want to be on the board of

397
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:49,720
Speaker 1: a tech company, do I need to move to Silicon Valley? No? Okay,

398
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:54,639
Speaker 1: all right, because I literally have people from across the

399
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,920
Speaker 1: country in this accelerator. You don't have to move there.

400
00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:00,760
Speaker 1: It's helpful, but you don't have to move and there

401
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,879
Speaker 1: and their directors from all over there, all over Okay,

402
00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,000
Speaker 1: can I'm gonna ask tell you why I asked because

403
00:24:08,040 --> 00:24:11,560
Speaker 1: you mentioned how networking is so important to get to

404
00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:14,439
Speaker 1: know when those openings are coming up. You need to

405
00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:18,920
Speaker 1: know the directors who get the calls. I get emails

406
00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,760
Speaker 1: all the time. Who do you know for this? If

407
00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,880
Speaker 1: I don't know you, I can't refer you. So it's

408
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:26,879
Speaker 1: you need to know the CEOs and you need to

409
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:31,240
Speaker 1: know the board directors you living. If you moved to California,

410
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:33,480
Speaker 1: that won't help you because you still won't know the

411
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:35,520
Speaker 1: people who are getting the calls. Do you see what

412
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:39,280
Speaker 1: I'm saying? So it's connection and just be investable. And

413
00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:42,240
Speaker 1: what I mean by that is I look for grit,

414
00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:47,399
Speaker 1: your tenacity, your ability to keep pushing forward and persevere.

415
00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,359
Speaker 1: Right then I invest in you, And then I opened

416
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:54,480
Speaker 1: my network and people are investing in people. So does

417
00:24:54,480 --> 00:24:59,000
Speaker 1: that is that helpful? We're global? Okay, I will be

418
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:04,400
Speaker 1: following us you that's sorry, that's sorry, And I will

419
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:08,560
Speaker 1: say Marlene isn't is shopping around and looking for more

420
00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,040
Speaker 1: support with black women on board. I need to fire myself.

421
00:25:11,760 --> 00:25:16,040
Speaker 1: She she needs. So this is a huge opportunity also

422
00:25:16,119 --> 00:25:18,480
Speaker 1: for people who really want to get steeped in this. Okay,

423
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,040
Speaker 1: there's a question over here. Oh okay, you got that

424
00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,400
Speaker 1: one in that one and then her okay, great, good day.

425
00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,879
Speaker 1: My name is Natasha Taplin. I am with it sister

426
00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:33,359
Speaker 1: BIS Global Network. Um. My question is two two parts.

427
00:25:33,440 --> 00:25:38,480
Speaker 1: One question, UM, how do you know um, the time

428
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: commitment that it takes for each board where you can

429
00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:44,240
Speaker 1: serve one multiple and what does the commitment look like

430
00:25:44,359 --> 00:25:47,520
Speaker 1: as far as year to year? Um? Is it one year?

431
00:25:47,600 --> 00:25:52,639
Speaker 1: Two years? No? All right? This is what this is

432
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,080
Speaker 1: why this is a question. It's a great question. This

433
00:25:56,119 --> 00:25:59,840
Speaker 1: is very different than your operator job. While you make

434
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:02,680
Speaker 1: a mergers and acquisition, meaning you get to buy out

435
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,479
Speaker 1: and you're out in the year, you should expect that

436
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,600
Speaker 1: you're going to outlive CEOs, which the average tender is

437
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,920
Speaker 1: about five or so years. So think of it as

438
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:16,160
Speaker 1: a decade, eight to ten year commitment. And the other

439
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: thing I'll say is that while traditionally a lot of

440
00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:25,199
Speaker 1: recruiters went after the CEOs of other companies. Most of

441
00:26:25,200 --> 00:26:28,880
Speaker 1: them really don't have the bandwidth and the time to commit,

442
00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 1: nor do they have the kind of landscape perspective and

443
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 1: the space from the day to day operations that people

444
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:41,840
Speaker 1: who are full time board members or directors like Marlene

445
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,399
Speaker 1: has to offer. And so, um, I've I mean, so

446
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:49,520
Speaker 1: I think there are two routes if you're an active CEO.

447
00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,280
Speaker 1: Probably one is realistic and and sometimes it's a stretch

448
00:26:53,320 --> 00:26:57,840
Speaker 1: because being a CEO is all encompassing. And then um,

449
00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:01,479
Speaker 1: and then if you're doing you know, I think maybe

450
00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: four or five is you know, is like a full

451
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,880
Speaker 1: docket for somebody who's a full time director. Is that right?

452
00:27:08,320 --> 00:27:13,560
Speaker 1: That's right? And I would tell you in times of crisis,

453
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,119
Speaker 1: like when the pandemic happened, get ready to beyond calls

454
00:27:17,160 --> 00:27:20,720
Speaker 1: a lot so tip. Yeah. So typically it is quarterly

455
00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,080
Speaker 1: that you meet, but there are committee meetings, so it's

456
00:27:24,119 --> 00:27:26,840
Speaker 1: it's and if it's a pre ip O company, I

457
00:27:26,880 --> 00:27:31,200
Speaker 1: was in weekly meetings for for a couple of months

458
00:27:31,240 --> 00:27:35,200
Speaker 1: before it was like every it was like every week

459
00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,120
Speaker 1: and we had an extra committee and it was a thing.

460
00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: It was really if you have an I p O,

461
00:27:40,800 --> 00:27:43,919
Speaker 1: that's that's interesting because it's a lot of work to

462
00:27:44,080 --> 00:27:47,520
Speaker 1: go through that in a pandemic, for sure, weekly calls

463
00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:51,840
Speaker 1: if there's a crisis of the company. Daily sometimes for

464
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,359
Speaker 1: a short period of times. You need to know what

465
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,400
Speaker 1: you're signing up for. It sounds glamorous, right, but there's

466
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,800
Speaker 1: real work. So Okay, I'm afraid we're we're going to

467
00:28:01,880 --> 00:28:04,680
Speaker 1: take one more question, keep trying keep it brief, and

468
00:28:04,680 --> 00:28:08,479
Speaker 1: then we've got a oral trend X figure. It's like

469
00:28:08,680 --> 00:28:10,960
Speaker 1: having access to the p m L and those type

470
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:15,440
Speaker 1: of competencies. Competencies are valuable for a board. Now we're

471
00:28:15,480 --> 00:28:18,919
Speaker 1: seeing that diversity or just being a diverse person is

472
00:28:18,960 --> 00:28:22,439
Speaker 1: something that people are pursuing for board members. Can you

473
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:26,040
Speaker 1: give an example maybe of how you, as a black

474
00:28:26,119 --> 00:28:29,200
Speaker 1: woman being on the board plays out into the decision

475
00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:32,240
Speaker 1: and the influence that you have in the boardroom. If

476
00:28:32,240 --> 00:28:34,680
Speaker 1: someone wants you on their board because you're a black

477
00:28:34,720 --> 00:28:41,240
Speaker 1: female or black man, don't join that board. I need

478
00:28:41,280 --> 00:28:48,240
Speaker 1: you to understand that you need so you just happen

479
00:28:48,280 --> 00:28:50,880
Speaker 1: to be in that package. That's very attractive right now,

480
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,080
Speaker 1: but you need to be able to contribute what's important

481
00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,520
Speaker 1: right now in what I think is creating shareholder value.

482
00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:01,640
Speaker 1: Uh more so in the data. This is a good

483
00:29:01,720 --> 00:29:08,320
Speaker 1: data point for you in of what created business value

484
00:29:08,560 --> 00:29:12,480
Speaker 1: was culture, talent and innovation you fast forward forty five

485
00:29:12,640 --> 00:29:17,120
Speaker 1: years later, that's almost half and half, So yes, you

486
00:29:17,160 --> 00:29:19,040
Speaker 1: could have. So that, by the way, is why c

487
00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:21,040
Speaker 1: h R o s are really hot right now. But

488
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,840
Speaker 1: if someone just wants you for your gender or race,

489
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:30,360
Speaker 1: that's not the place for you because you're not the

490
00:29:30,400 --> 00:29:33,240
Speaker 1: contributions and how you spend your time. For me, it's

491
00:29:33,360 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: very very important. I want the things that I'm saying

492
00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,360
Speaker 1: to really contribute to the company's trajectory short and long.

493
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:46,680
Speaker 1: So hopefully that answers your question. Awesome, this was so wonderful, really,

494
00:29:46,800 --> 00:30:06,360
Speaker 1: thank you so very much. Black Tech Green Money is

495
00:30:06,360 --> 00:30:08,880
Speaker 1: a production of blackt The Afro Tech on the Black

496
00:30:08,880 --> 00:30:11,800
Speaker 1: Effect podcast Network and Ninheart Media, and it was produced

497
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,600
Speaker 1: by Morgan Dubond and me Will Lucas, with additional production

498
00:30:15,600 --> 00:30:19,280
Speaker 1: support by Love Beacham Rissa Lewis. Special thank you to

499
00:30:19,320 --> 00:30:23,080
Speaker 1: Michael Davis, Germaine Hall, and Vanessa Serrano. Learn more about

500
00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,520
Speaker 1: my guests and other tech disruptors and innovatives at afro

501
00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:29,200
Speaker 1: tech dot com. Enjoin your Black Tech Green Money leave

502
00:30:29,280 --> 00:30:33,000
Speaker 1: us a five star radio on iTunes, Go get your money.

503
00:30:34,240 --> 00:30:34,840
Speaker 1: Peace of love,